The South African business school, Red & Yellow, announced Tuesday it would accept bitcoin payments for tuition, making it the first African institution to commit to a cryptocurrency. The school joins about half a dozen others around the world letting students pay their way with digital assets.
Red & Yellow Chairman Rob Stokes said the progressive school, which calls itself a “Creative School of Business,” wants to reward “forward-thinking students.”
“The reality is that bitcoin is here to stay and with many youngsters having made a good return on their investment in cryptocurrencies, they now want to use this digital cash to invest in their education,” Stokes wrote. “The world is changing rapidly, as are our students and it’s our responsibility to ensure we are serving their future focused needs.”
Red & Yellow was founded in 1994 and has two campuses in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The school pivoted recently and began to call itself a “Creative School of Business."
Red & Yellow is not the first university to start accepting cryptocurrency tuition payments. Switzerland’s Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts announced in October 2017 that it would start accepting bitcoin to pay for tuition. Germany’s ESMT Berlin business school made a similar policy change in 2016. The University of Cumbria in the UK, King’s College in New York, and the University of Nicosia are also accepting bitcoin to pay for tuition.
Many schools that envision themselves as cutting edge have been making the leap into the crypto industry. Some universities, such as Princeton and Berkely, have offered courses on crypto-related topics, such as blockchain. Introducing courses in the topic and accepting students who will conduct original research, might pave the way for more schools to jump on board.
Lucerne researchers are involved in several blockchain-related research projects, including a trial using Ethereum in the city of Zug to offer all residents “digital identities” (German). Currently, Lucerne is also hosting a “blockchain boot camp” through the mid-January.
As for Red & Yellow, they see this move as one that places them at the forefront of the next age of economics and business.
“Not only will this make our offerings more accessible to the public – individuals and organizations – but it will set us apart on an international scale, regardless of the market,” said Professor John Simpson, Head of Management Studies at the school. “We are very fortunate in being a private institution able to innovate like this, it’s an important part of why I joined Red & Yellow.”
Red & Yellow Chairman Rob Stokes said the progressive school, which calls itself a “Creative School of Business,” wants to reward “forward-thinking students.”
“The reality is that bitcoin is here to stay and with many youngsters having made a good return on their investment in cryptocurrencies, they now want to use this digital cash to invest in their education,” Stokes wrote. “The world is changing rapidly, as are our students and it’s our responsibility to ensure we are serving their future focused needs.”
Red & Yellow was founded in 1994 and has two campuses in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The school pivoted recently and began to call itself a “Creative School of Business."
Red & Yellow is not the first university to start accepting cryptocurrency tuition payments. Switzerland’s Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts announced in October 2017 that it would start accepting bitcoin to pay for tuition. Germany’s ESMT Berlin business school made a similar policy change in 2016. The University of Cumbria in the UK, King’s College in New York, and the University of Nicosia are also accepting bitcoin to pay for tuition.
Going all in on blockchain education
Many schools that envision themselves as cutting edge have been making the leap into the crypto industry. Some universities, such as Princeton and Berkely, have offered courses on crypto-related topics, such as blockchain. Introducing courses in the topic and accepting students who will conduct original research, might pave the way for more schools to jump on board.
Lucerne researchers are involved in several blockchain-related research projects, including a trial using Ethereum in the city of Zug to offer all residents “digital identities” (German). Currently, Lucerne is also hosting a “blockchain boot camp” through the mid-January.
As for Red & Yellow, they see this move as one that places them at the forefront of the next age of economics and business.
“Not only will this make our offerings more accessible to the public – individuals and organizations – but it will set us apart on an international scale, regardless of the market,” said Professor John Simpson, Head of Management Studies at the school. “We are very fortunate in being a private institution able to innovate like this, it’s an important part of why I joined Red & Yellow.”